Fire burning at Syncrude plant north of Fort McMurray

A fire broke out Tuesday afternoon at Syncrude’s Mildred Lake oilsands upgrader north of Fort McMurray.

RCMP and Alberta Energy Regulator investigators have been dispatched to the site.

According to one media report the site has been evacuated and the entrance has been closed.

Highway 63, the main road that connects the site to Fort McMurray, remains open in both directions, according to a spokesman for the municipality, who was citing information from Alberta Transportation.

Syncrude said it has informed the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo about the fire.

The municipality has offered its emergency services to support the company’s own firefighters in battling the blaze.

Melissa Blake, mayor of the regional municipality, expressed her concerns on Twitter.

“Anxiety high for those waiting for friends and family to connect,” she wrote. “Don’t let rumours run the social media mill, facts will come when they can.”

A fire at the company’s Mildred Lake Base plant in August 2015 was quickly extinguished and the company said at the time there were no reports of injuries.